Investing in Renewables Speakers

Christopher Aird

Senior Associate, Norton Rose Fulbright

Chris Aird is a project finance, energy and infrastructure lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.
Chris has been part of and advised on a number of transactions globally, with a strong focus on renewables and the energy transition. He has a specific interest in the development and financing of renewable energy projects, in particular in the offshore wind sector. His experience includes advising sponsors, lenders and investors on the financing, construction and development of projects, ranging from offshore (fixed and floating) wind and hydrogen to onshore wind, solar and BESS technologies, in the United Kingdom and Europe. Chris is ranked as a “leading associate” by Legal 500 UK for Projects, Energy and Natural Resources: Renewables.

Norton Rose Fulbright’s energy, infrastructure and natural resources lawyers have been at the heart of many of the world’s leading energy and infrastructure projects, including some of the most innovative first-to-market transactions within the energy sector.

Dr Egan Archer

Managing Director, Head of Power, Asset Management, Equitix

Egan is a Managing Director in Equitix’s Asset Management team and leads our Energy and Environment sector. Since joining Equitix in January 2012, he has played a key part in growing Equitix’s energy and environment portfolio from zero in 2012 to an EV of over £6bn today, spread across 40 projects. Egan manages a team of 10 sector specialists with backgrounds in engineering, financial and technical advisory, project development and contracts management.

Prior to joining Equitix, he was a Principal in the waste and renewables sectors; providing advisory services to governments and investors worldwide and filling the role of CTO in a start-up waste and renewables fund management business for 2.5 years.

His role spans across the entire Equitix value chain from investment strategy, origination, business development, through investment structuring, benchmarking, contracts negotiation and asset management. He is Equitix’s most experienced director in the energy and environmental sector. Egan has had a role in almost all of Equitix’s investment in the sector and sit on the boards of the majority of the energy from waste project companies.

Egan is a Chartered Engineer with a PhD in Chemical and Process Engineering.

Hugo Gordon

Senior Policy Advisor - Investments & Capital Markets, The Investment Association

Hugo Gordon is a Senior Policy Adviser in the Investment & Capital Markets team at the Investment Association, the UK's largest trade association representing investment managers. The IA's 250 members collectively manage £9.1 trillion in assets globally, and are significant investors in UK infrastructure. As well as infrastructure, Hugo's remit within the IA covers public and private markets, including equities, fixed income, ETFs, derivatives, trading, market data, and investment research. Prior to joining the IA he was a Corporate Governance Analyst at the Association of British Insurers.

Claire Mack

Chief Executive, Scottish Renewables

Claire has been Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, the representative voice of Scotland’s renewable energy industry, since October 2017. She is responsible for leading the organisation’s work to grow Scotland’s renewables sector and sustain its position at the forefront of the global clean energy industry.

Claire is a member of the First Minister’s Energy Advisory Board and is co-chair of the Renewable Energy Strategic Leadership Group. She is also co-chair of the Scottish Government Marine Energy Industry Group.

Claire is a member of SSEN’s Network for Net Zero Stakeholder Group and a member of the Centre for Work-Based Learning in Scotland Advisory Group.

Claire was awarded the University of Strathclyde’s STELAR award for executive leadership within the industry in 2021 and is also an honorary fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

Before joining Scottish Renewables, Claire was Director of Policy and Place at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry. She has previously worked in various roles at Ofcom in Scotland, focusing on economic regulation of telecoms, radio spectrum and the mail market while also looking at developing digital participation of individuals and businesses.